Egyptians unimpressed by cabinet reshuffle

Many Egyptians say changes irrelevant since the real decision-making power lies in the hands of the army.

Egypt's prime minister has reshuffled his cabinet following mounting pressure from protesters in Tahrir Square and elsewhere in the country.

The demonstrators blame Essam Sharraf's government for the slow pace of reform and for not being serious enough about putting members of the old regime on trial.

Many Egyptians say the changes to the cabinet are irrelevant since the real decision-making power in the country lies in the hands of the supreme military council.

Some analysts say the reshuffle is at best a change of names rather than policy, Dr Rabab el-Mahdi, a professor of political science at the American University in Cairo, said: "For one, they kept some of the ministers who served under Mubarak, like the minister of international co-operation and environment.

"Secondly, the new appointments also included names from the NDP [the former ruling party], like the minister of education."